Furnace floor seal



'Jm 19, 1932. D WWE 1,841,391

FURNACE FLAOOR SEAL Filed Dec. 20. 1928 Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED "STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. WHITE, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, .SSIGNOR TO THE TEXAS COMPANY, 0F

' NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE mamen rizooav smi.

` Application mea December ao, 192s. serial No. 327,456.'

The invention relates primarily to improved seals between floors of furnaces situated above the ground, with air spaces beneath them, and metallic members or the like extending through such floors. More specically it relates to improved means for sealing the interstices or spaces left between abutting sections of an elevated floor of a furnace and the outer walls of vessels parm tially enclosed within the furnace but extending below the floor of the latter. Where furnaces are suitably designed provision is made for ingress of air at the "appropriate points to produce a desired flow.

ment of regulatable dampers. In construct- 4ing such furnaces an attempt is made to form a tightly fitting closure so as to prevent the.

leakage of any air into the furnace at points zowhereit is not intended to be introduced.

Where the-success andeconomy of an operation depends upon a close control .of heat transfer, it is essential that all factors tending to bring about this close control or regulation should in turn be closely cont-rolled.

It has been found to be a serious drawback to the eiicient operation of furnaces having elevated floors and provided with upright vessels only partially enclosed by the lfur- 80 naces and protruding. through the 'furnace floors not to have prpvision made for an ef.- fective seal between the peripheral walls of the vessels and the `fioor abutting them so as to prevent relatively cool air from leaking through. yDifficulties have been encountered in attempting to provide an effective seal for the interstice's, formed at these points on account of the fact that they are subjected to Variationin size due tothe difference in expansion of the vessels and the abutting lmasonry when the temperature is raised. Furthermore, the lengthening of the' vessels due to expansion and their subsequent contraction compels the use of a seal which will permit sliding of 'the walls of th e. ,vessel s through the openings. This necessitates the provision of special means for the retention of the sealing element. Therefore, an oliject of the'present invention has been not only to provide lmeans for lsealing the spaces around the outer walls of downwardly protruding vessels partially enclosed within la furnace having anelevated'floor, but to provide suitable and novel means forvretaimng the seal- .Y

ing means in proper position. This and other objects and features of the improvement maybe better understood by referring to the'fllowing detailed descripthe vessels and the abutting furnace floor showing the sealing means in cross section.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line '3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing another form of seal in cross section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, a furnace l may be c onstructed above the ground on an elevated concrete slab 5 or the like supported in any suitable way, as by masonry vWalls or columns together with steel reinforcements. This slab has openings adapted to receive the lower portions of a number of heating chambers or vessels 2 and 3. The slab 5 may be sit- Auated at -any desired elevation but is preferably high enough so that the protruding lower portions of the vessels2 and 3 and their communicating piping maybe easil accessible to operators and workmen. an arrangement of this character it is referable to suspend the vessels by means o supports active near their upperends and for this purpose lugs 10 and 11, secured' to or integralwith the vessels, are adapted to rest upon beams or columns formingpart of or supporting the .A

roof ofthe furnace chamber.

lAny conventional form of construction having appropriate holsters and-beams, or other supporting and sti'ening members,

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may be Iused for the furnace walls and top. According to the common practice in constructions of this nature, the furnace 1 is lined with a suitable refractory material such as a fire brick lining 110, while the outer portion 111 of the wall is of common or red brick. The lining 110 covers the entire interior of the furn'ace,`including the roof-and the floor. That portion of the lining which comprises a part of the floor is preferably separated from the slab 5 by means of a cushion 12 formed of sand, spent fullers earth, or the like.

Suitable burners 15 are provided for supplying heat to the vessels 2 and 3 and they are preferably arranged in rows along two or more of the walls of the furnace to effect a better distribution of the heat and the products of combustion about the interior of the furnace. A regulatable damper or series of dampers 16, preferably arranged near the bottom of one end of the furnace, and an outlet flue 17 entering the furnace preferably at a point near the top of the opposite end, serve to provide an appropriate draft for the combustion products. i

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which illustrate on a larger scale the main features of the present invention, when the openings in the concrete slab 5 are fashioned to receive the vessels 2 and 3, which are usually cylindrical in form, allowance is made forrivet heads and lapsy in the walls of the vessels,

or, where welded vessels are used, as a precaution against mists. Consequently, spaces are usually left between the peripheries of the openings in floor slab 5 and the outer walls of the vessels 2 and 3 when the vessels are in place in their settings. The sand cushion 12 disposd between the lining 110 and'- the floor slab 5 extends over the entire area of the Hoor. The lining 110 may either be extended only as far as the edges of the openings in the floor slab 5 as shown in Fig. 3, or it may be extended to within closer proximity to the walls'of the vessels 2 and 3, as shown in Fig. 4. The spaces between the walls of the vessels and the edges of the open-v ings in the ioor are usually regula-r as to form, i. e., substantially annular, but they are not uniform or regular as to size. Depending upon the installation, the annular space may vary between one and two inches, or even three inches, in width.

A suitable closing member 20, comprised of a number of arcuate sections of heavy galvanized sheet iron, angle-like in cross section, is placed with the ends of the sections overlapping to loosely encircle each of the vessels 2 and 3, with the vertical leg of the angle extending downwardly and the horizontal leg of the angle projecting outwardly from the walls of the vessels. The outstanding leg of each member 20 is slotted at appropriate intervals ,and has attached thereto, as by means of rivets or bolts 22, a number of clamping strips 21, preferably formed of galvanized iron and of proper strength. These clamping strips or elements are over-turned at their ends and are adapted to engage the edges of the slab 5 surrounding the openings therein so that they serve as suspension means for the sections of the member 20. The mounting of the sections of the member 20 is thus made quite flexible, both by virtue of the relatively loose mounting of the clamping stripsv on the slab and by reason of the play that may, if desired, be provided between the sections of member 20 and the bolts 22. This permits bringing the vertical legs of the angle` sections into close proximity with the walls of the vessels to close off the annular air spaces at these points and also provide a ledge by means of the horizontal legs of the angle sections.

The space above the ledge provided bythe angle sections is then filled with a loose, dry` mass 13 of suitable insulating material, such as asbestos fibre or the like, which, together with the memberl 20, serves effectively toy seal this space. The filler may be brought up flush with the top of the refractory lining.

110 in the form shown in Fig. 2, or it may merely extend to the underside of the refractory lining as in the form shown in Fi 4. Y

It will be understood that the filler'o insulating material is thus suitably supported by the members 20, which in turn are suspended by the strips 21 and rivets 22 to form slidable and compressible seals for the spaces be-f tween the outer walls of the vessels 2 and 3 and the substantially vertical lsurfaces of the` floor openings.

A somewhat similar construction may, if

desired, be employed to provide a seal between the upper portions of the chambers and the roof of the furnace. This, however, is not essential and is preferably not done,

since a substantially tight and permanent t may be provided between the vessels and the roof. The suspension of the vessels by means of the lugs 10 and 11 from the roof structure eliminates any relative longitudinal movement'of the vessels through the roof, such as is encountered between the ioor and the vessels upon the expansion of the latter.

The lower portions of the vessels 2 and 3 are covered with suitable lagging or insulation which is fastened securely thereon.

Preferably, the top of each section of the in-- sulating material 25, just below the underside of the furnace 1, is cut away to provide an annular space to co-operate with and relll ceive the downwardly projecting vertical leg of the member '20. The lagging at this point also serves to hold the arcuate sections 20 snugly against the wall of each vessel whether it expands or contracts annularly or vertically. The upper portions of the heating chambers or vessels above the roof of.-

the furnace may also be insulated, if desired. It is evident that the embodiment of the -invention as` herein. disclosed may be subjected to various changes without departing from the spirit of the invention and accordingly it is not desired to limit its scope other than by the claims which follow. Vhat I claim is: l. In apparatus of the class described a `furnace having an elevated floor with an o eninfT therein an u ri ht vessel-having its A'middle portion enclosed within the furnace and its upper and lower portions protruding fronr the furnace, sealing means annularly' yieldable between the ioor opening and the wall pf -the vessel and expansible means supporting the sealing means. f

2. In apparatus of the class described a furnace having an elevated fioor with open# `ings therein, an upright vessel having its middle portion enclosed within the furnace and its upper and lower portions protruding from the furnace, sealing means annularly yieldable between the floor openings and the vesselxand slid'ably supported by suspending means engaged with the edge .of said opening and a yieldable mass supported by said arcuate members.

6. In apparatus of the class described a furnace having a floor whose underside is eX- posedftdthe air, said floor being provided with an opening, av vessel partially enclosed 1928. f GEORGE D. WHITE.

walls of the vessels, said means comprising f a loose, dry mass and expansible means `supporting thev sealing means.

8. In apparatus of the class described a furnace having anv elevated ioor with an opening therein, anI upright vessel having its middle portion enclosed within the furnace and its upper and lower portions protruding from the furnace, compressible sealing means between the floor opening and the wall of the vessel, said means comprising a loose, dry

' mass, and annularly yieldable arcuate members surroundingthe vessel supporting the mass and aiding in effecting the seal.

4. In apparatus of the class describeda furnacev having an elevated Hoor with an opening therein,an upright vessel having its middle .portion enclosed within the furnace and its upper and lower portions protruding from the furnace, insulating covering means for saidportions, compr'essible sealing and insulating means betwen the floor opening and the wall of the vessel, said sealing means comprising` a loose, dry mass, and annularly l yieldable arcuate members surrounding, the

Vessel supporting the mass and aiding in effecting the seal, said arcuate members being retained in close relationship with the wall of the vessel by co-operation with theinsulating means for the lower protruding'section of said vessel.

` 5. In apparatus of the class described a furnace having a floor whose underside is lexposed to thev air, said floor beinglprovided with an opening, a vessel partially enclosed by said furnace and having itsA lower endvprotruding from said lioor through. said open-v ing, and annularly yieldable sealingfand insulating means between the wall of said ves# sel and the edge of said open-ing, said means comprising arcuate members surrounding the 

